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Biomedical subjects

R L Roberts

Publications and source records attributed to R L Roberts.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1993

Role of oxygen intermediates in cytotoxicity: studies in chronic granulomatous disease.

The ability of human neutrophils to lyse various target cells was investigated using cells from normal individuals and from patients with chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) whose cells lack the ability to form reactive oxygen intermediates (ROI). Cytolysis was stimulated by phorbol myristate acetate (PMA), rabbit antiserum, and a heteroantibody that binds to both the FcRII receptor of neutrophils and to the target. The PMA-activated CGD neutrophils were deficient compared to controls in killing both tumor and chicken erythrocyte (CRBC) targets at all effector-target ratios in 18-h assays. When CRBC were sensitized with rabbit antiserum, the normal cells still killed slightly more. When killing of CRBC was mediated by the heteroantibody, however, cytotoxicity of CGD neutrophils exceeded that of normal cells. CGD mononuclear cells (MNC) killed tumor cell targets as well as or better than normal MNC. Thus, PMA-mediated cytolysis appears to depend primarily upon the ability of the cell to generate ROI whereas antibody-mediated cytotoxicity and MNC-mediated lysis of tumor cells do not require ROI formation.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Allopurinol administered after inducing hypoxia-ischemia reduces brain injury in 7-day-old rats.

We determined that treatment of immature rats with allopurinol at 15 min after cerebral hypoxia-ischemia reduces brain damage. Seven-d postnatal rats were subjected to right common carotid artery ligation followed by 2.25 h of hypoxia (8% O2). At 15 min of recovery in room air, the rat pups received either allopurinol (135 mg/kg s.c.) or saline. Some of the rats (n = 65) were killed at 42 h of recovery for measurement of cerebral hemispheric water content. Other animals (n = 63) were killed at 30 d for morphologic assessment of the severity of damage. In separate rats, we measured the levels of allopurinol and its metabolites in serum and in the brain around the time of peak serum levels. We also determined the effect of allopurinol on rat pup body temperature. Allopurinol reduced the increase in right hemisphere water content and markedly reduced atrophy. No cavitary lesions were seen in the 31 allopurinol-treated rats, whereas 15 of 32 saline-treated rats had cavitary cerebral lesions. Histologic examination confirmed that the allopurinol-treated rats had less brain injury. Serum allopurinol and oxypurinol peaked between 0.5 and 1 h after allopurinol injection. Their peak serum concentrations at 0.75 h postinjection combined was between 360 and 510 microM. Allopurinol did not lower rectal temperature more than 0.04 degrees C. In conclusion, high-dose allopurinol administered at 15 min of recovery from cerebral hypoxia-ischemia markedly reduces both acute brain edema and long-term cerebral injury in immature rats.

Allopurinol↗
PubMed1993

Decreased superoxide anion and hydrogen peroxide production by neutrophils and monocytes in human immunodeficiency virus-infected children and adults.

The higher susceptibility to serious bacterial infections of patients, particularly children, infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) may be due in part to defective function of their phagocytic cells. We examined the ability of polymorphonuclear cells and monocytes of HIV-infected children and adults to generate superoxide anion (SO) and hydrogen peroxide (HP) and compared it with that of cells from normal children and adults. SO was measured by reduction of cytochrome c and HP by horseradish peroxidase-dependent oxidation of phenol red. The cells were incubated in 96-well plates at 37 degrees C for 2 h before the assay and the nonadherent cells then removed. Readings for SO were taken at 10, 30, 60, and 120 min after stimulation with phorbol myristate acetate; HP production was assayed after 90 min. The SO and HP production by polymorphonuclear cells and monocytes from both HIV-infected children and adults was consistently found to be markedly lower than that of cells from age-matched controls. The magnitude of the difference in response between patients and control cells also increased with increasing incubation time. Thus, phagocytic cells from HIV-infected children and adults are defective in their ability to generate reactive oxygen intermediates, and this defect may make them more vulnerable to bacterial and fungal infections.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Receptor-mediated endocytosis of transferrin at the blood-brain barrier.

Rat brains were perfuse with a transferrin-peroxidase conjugate (Tf-HRP) to characterize morphologically the endocytic pathway of transferrin in blood-brain barrier endothelial cells. Electron microscopic evaluation of rat brains perfused with Tf-HRP at 4 degrees C and subsequently warmed to 37 degrees C for brief periods of time (2 minutes) showed sequestration of Tf-HRP in clathrin coated pits and vesicles on the luminal membrane of the brain endothelium. After 5 minutes of warming, diaminobenzidine (DAB) reaction product was present in vesicular structures 250-500 nm in diameter and in associated tubules morphologically identified as large or sorting endosomes. Recycling endosomes were also heavily labelled at this time point. Almost no DAB reaction product remained in the cerebral endothelial cells when the warming period was longer than 15 minutes. Other rat brains were perfused with Tf-HRP at 30 degrees C for 15 minutes prior to fixation and DAB cytochemistry. In these studies, brain endothelial cells contained large amounts of DAB reaction product, mostly localized in 50-100 nm vesicles and tubules, often in the Golgi region of the cells. Coated pits and vesicles and large endosomes were also heavily labelled. Transcytosis of Tf-HRP was not identified in either perfusion protocol. Ultrastructural, indirect immunocytochemical localization of transferrin receptors showed that the transferrin receptor is highly polarized at the blood-brain barrier and is localized only on the apical membrane, in contrast to other polarized epithelial cells, like hepatocytes, in which the receptor is present on the basolateral membrane. The evidence supports an iron transport model in which iron-loaded transferrin is taken up by receptor-mediated endocytosis at the luminal membrane of brain capillaries. The iron then dissociates from transferrin in endosomal compartments and is transcytosed by unknown mechanisms, while the transferrin is retroendocytosed.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Apical-basal membrane polarity of membrane phosphatases in isolated capillary endothelium: alteration in ultrastructural localisation under culture conditions.

Capillaries from freshly isolated rat epididymal fat were subjected to protocols that allowed ultrastructural localisation of alkaline phosphatase and 5'-nucleotidase. Alkaline phosphatase was almost entirely restricted to the capillary luminal membrane and vesicles associated with this membrane. 5'-nucleotidase was localised on the basal or abluminal membrane and associated vesicles. Arterioles and occasional venules were also present in the cell isolates, and arteriole localisation of 5'-nucleotidase was identical to that in capillaries. In venules, 5'-nucleotidase often failed to exhibit a polarised distribution and was present on both membrane domains. In confluent cultured endothelial cells, 5'-nucleotidase was not expressed in a predominantly polarised arrangement. Alkaline phosphatase was found on apical surfaces and regions of lateral cell contact. The results of these studies show that capillary endothelial cells exhibit enzyme polarity of their surface membranes which is subject to change on introduction of the cells to tissue culture.

5'-Nucleotidase↗
PubMed1992

Receptor-mediated endocytosis of insulin by cultured endothelial cells.

Label-fracture immunochemistry and pre-embedding indirect immunocytochemistry were applied to investigate insulin uptake by endothelial cells. Freeze fracture replicas showed that a small percentage of native insulin receptors are associated with non-coated pits (4%) and coated pits (2%). After warming, receptor bound insulin became increasingly associated with such endocytotic vesicles. After 2 min the percentage of detectable insulin associated with non-coated and coated pits increased to 16% and 8%, respectively. Pre-embedding immunocytochemical localization of insulin gave results consistent with those obtained from the label-fracture studies. Both non-coated and coated vesicles appeared labelled after 5 min of warming. Non-coated vesicles contained 25% of the cell associated insulin while 9% was associated with coated pits and vesicles. After 10 min of warming, 9% of label was located in non-coated vesicles and 7% in coated vesicles. A large proportion (29%) of the label was found in tubular-vesicular endosomes at this time. After 15 min of warming, 30% of the remaining cell-associated gold label was found in multivesicular bodies. These experiments demonstrate that insulin uptake by endothelium is mediated by both coated and non-coated vesicles and that, once internalized, insulin is routed through endosomal pathways that primarily result in transcytosis.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Deficient polymorphonuclear cell and mononuclear cell antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity in pediatric and adult human immunodeficiency virus infection.

Children with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection have impaired polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMNL) function leading to secondary bacterial infections and possible acceleration of underlying viral disease. The chief antiviral defense mechanism of PMNL is antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). Accordingly, the ADCC of PMNL and mononuclear cells from HIV-positive children was compared with that of HIV-positive adults, healthy adults, and age-matched healthy children. PMNL and mononuclear cells from HIV-positive children incubated with hyperimmune HIV immune globulin (HIVIG) gave significantly lower ADCC compared with PMNL or mononuclear cells of healthy age-matched children incubated with HIVIG (P less than .05). The ADCC of mononuclear cells of healthy adults in the presence of plasma from HIV-infected children was significantly less than that of the same cells in the presence of plasma from HIV-positive symptomatic or asymptomatic adults. Augmentation of ADCC of the PMNL from HIV-positive children with interferon-gamma or granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor did not occur. Thus, the defect in ADCC of HIV-positive children is due to defects of both effector cells and antibody function.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Human eosinophils are more toxic than neutrophils in antibody-independent killing.

Eosinophils (EOSs) are implicated in damaging host tissues in diseases such as asthma and eosinophilic gastroenteritis. In the present study, we assessed the cytotoxicity of human EOSs from peripheral blood of patients with eosinophilia and from peritoneal fluid of patients undergoing continuous peritoneal dialysis and compared them to normal neutrophils. Cytotoxicity was measured by the release of 51chromium from cultured tumor cells and chicken erythrocytes. Both EOSs and neutrophils were separated on discontinuous Percoll gradients with greater than 95% purity. The granulocytes were activated by preincubation in an ice bath with phorbol myristate acetate and washed before incubation with the target cells. The EOSs lysed significantly more tumor cells (K562, Raji, and CEM lines) in an 18-hour assay than did neutrophils, and no significant difference was found between the peritoneal and blood EOSs. The EOSs were also much more efficient than neutrophils in lysing chicken erythrocytes when they were activated by granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor instead of phorbol myristate acetate. Cytolysis by EOSs is mediated by both oxidative and nonoxidative mechanisms, as indicated by experiments with cells from patients with chronic granulomatous disease. Thus, EOSs are much more cytotoxic than neutrophils and potentially much more damaging to patients with eosinophilia.

Antibody-Dependent Cell Cytotoxicity↗
PubMed1991

Differences in infarct size with lidocaine as compared with bretylium tosylate in acute myocardial ischemia and reperfusion in pigs.

The effects of the antiarrhythmic drugs lidocaine and bretylium tosylate on myocardial necrosis were studied in anesthetized pigs subjected to 60-min coronary occlusion followed by 3-h reperfusion. Group A (n = 7) received lidocaine (average dose +/- SD = 1,828 +/- 515 mg) before and during coronary occlusion and after reperfusion; the other series (group B, n = 7) received bretylium tosylate (3,457 +/- 1,323 mg). Infarct size was 16.3 +/- 14.7% in the lidocaine group as compared with 68.6 +/- 12.6% (p less than 0.01) in the bretylium group. In vitro release of superoxide anion from porcine granulocytes was studied using the lucigenin-dependent chemiluminescence technique. Lidocaine significantly reduced the peak chemiluminescence response to zymosan from 3.34 +/- 0.44 without lidocaine to 2.23 +/- 0.46 (p less than 0.01) and 1.06 +/- 0.17 mV (p less than 0.001), with lidocaine concentrations of 20 and 200 micrograms/ml, respectively. Bretylium had no effect on the chemiluminescence response. Adherence of porcine granulocytes to plastic was also reduced from 332 +/- 32 cells/mm2 (no lidocaine) to 247 +/- 35 and 206 +/- 26 cells/mm2 with lidocaine concentrations of 20 and 200 micrograms/ml, respectively (p less than 0.001). Bretylium had no significant effect. Eight additional bretylium-treated pigs received either rabbit antiporcine granulocyte serum (group C, n = 4) to reduce circulating granulocytes or nonimmune serum (group D, n = 4). Infract size in the granulocyte-depleted pigs was 26.6 +/- 5.6% as compared with 51.4 +/- 5.5% in pigs that received nonimmune serum (p less than 0.01).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Neutropenia in an extremely premature infant treated with recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor.

Neutropenia in the newborn is often associated with sepsis, maternal hypertension, or prematurity. We describe a 654-g infant born at 30 weeks' gestation by cesarean section due to severe maternal hypertension. His course was complicated by five episodes of sepsis, including three with group B streptococcus. The results of hematologic and immunologic studies were normal except that absolute neutrophil counts were low (less than 1 x 10(9)/L) with intermittent increases during sepsis. Human recombinant granulocyte colony-stimulating factor administered subcutaneously (10 micrograms/kg per day initially) resulted in an absolute neutrophil count of greater than 30 x 10(9)/L within 2 weeks. The dosage was lowered and the absolute neutrophil counts were maintained at 8 to 12 x 10(9)/L with no further septic episodes. The human recombinant granulocyte colony-stimulating factor therapy was discontinued after 7 months, and the patient remained healthy with an absolute neutrophil count of greater than 2 x 10(9)/L. Thus, treatment with human recombinant granulocyte colony-stimulating factor may be useful as a temporary measure for neonatal neutropenia associated with sepsis. A controlled, clinical trial is warranted.

Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor↗
PubMed1990

Purification and properties of peritoneal eosinophils from pediatric dialysis patients.

Peritoneal eosinophilia frequently occurs in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis. We have devised a method for isolating large numbers of these peritoneal eosinophils from pediatric patients on continuous peritoneal dialysis. Patients were selected on the basis of previous high peritoneal eosinophil counts and had an age range of 1.5-11 years. The unfractionated peritoneal fluid contained 7.9 +/- 3.7% neutrophils, 3.8 +/- 1.0% lymphocytes, 11.0 +/- 3.7% monocytes/macrophages, and 77.3 +/- 6.3% eosinophils (based on Wright stain) and up to 2 x 10(9) cells could be recovered from 1 liter of peritoneal dialysate. The cells were concentrated by centrifugation and the cell suspension then layered over a discontinuous Percoll gradient consisting of layers of 45%, 55%, 65%, and 75% Percoll. The gradients were centrifuged resulting in the formation of bands of cells at the interfaces of the layers. The densest band of cells (above 75% Percoll) contained 94.7 +/- 1.8% eosinophils (mean with median of 98%) and 4.3 +/- 16% neutrophils. The eosinophil counts were 72.2 +/- 7.1% above the 65% layer, 57.1 +/- 8.7 above 55%, and 40.9 +/- 10.9% above 45%. The monocyte/macrophage count increased from 0.1% above the 75% layer to 42.9% above the 45%. The denser eosinophils (above 75% and 65%) had the appearance of normal blood eosinophils and comparable function to blood eosinophils in cytotoxic and oxidative assays. This method provides a means of obtaining large numbers of very pure eosinophils for study of eosinophil function, eosinophil subpopulations, or eosinophil granule constituents.

Antigens, Surface↗
PubMed1989

Eosinophils preferentially use bromide to generate halogenating agents.

Human eosinophils preferentially utilize bromide to generate a brominating agent, even at physiological halide concentrations, where chloride (140 mM) is over 1000-fold greater than bromide (20-100 microM). Under the same conditions, neutrophils use chloride to generate a chlorinating agent. The total amount of active halogen trapped by 1,3,5-trimethoxybenzene from eosinophils increases by over 2-fold as the added bromide concentration increases from 0 to 100 microM, with approximately 40 nmol of halogen trapped per million cells at the highest bromide level. At least 25-35% of the oxygen consumed by stimulated eosinophils is directed toward the generation of halogenating species. Since the relative halogenating behavior of eosinophil peroxidase and neutrophil myeloperoxidase in this bromide range is essentially identical to that of the cells, the specificity of eosinophils toward bromide is intrinsic to eosinophil peroxidase and not to any special cellular properties. These results suggest that human eosinophils use bromide in vivo and that a deficiency of bromide may influence their ability to produce halogenating agents.

Bromides↗
PubMed1989

Increased phagocytic cell chemiluminescence in patients with cystic fibrosis.

The oxidative burst of polymorphonuclear cells and monocytes from patients with cystic fibrosis as measured by luminol-enhanced chemiluminescence was examined after in vitro activation of the cells. All patients were outpatients at the time of the assays; their median age was 25.5 years (range, 12 to 33 years) and normal controls were young healthy adults. Stimulation of polymorphonuclear cells with phorbol myristate acetate, the chemotactic peptide N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine, and the calcium ionophore A23187 resulted in significantly greater chemiluminescence responses from the cells of patients than from the control cells. The monocyte response of patients to opsonized zymosan was also greater than that of controls. Thus, phagocytic cells from adolescents and young adults with cystic fibrosis have a greater chemiluminescence response to a variety of stimuli. This may result in tissue damage in the lungs of these patients and thus make them more susceptible to pulmonary infections.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Enhancement of normal neutrophil chemiluminescence by chronic granulomatous disease neutrophils.

Neutrophils and other phagocytic cells from patients with chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) lack the ability to generate reactive oxygen intermediates (ROI), although other phagocytic functions appear to be intact. The effects of CGD neutrophils on the ability of normal neutrophils to produce ROI as measured by luminol-enhanced chemiluminescence (CL) were examined. Normal neutrophils (2 x 10(5)) had a peak CL response to phorbol myristate acetate (PMA; 20 ng/ml) of 6.5 +/- 0.9 mV, while the CL response to CGD neutrophils was completely absent. However, the addition of CGD neutrophils (8 x 10(5)) to normal neutrophils (2 x 10(5)) markedly increased the peak CL response to PMA to 11.0 +/- 1.1 mV (P less than 0.001). The peak response of normal neutrophils (2 x 10(5)) alone to the peptide N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (FMLP; 10(-6) M) was 9.0 +/- 1.1 mV, and this increased to 22.2 +/- 3.5 mV (P less than 0.001) when 8 x 10(5) CGD neutrophils were added and to 18.9 +/- 3.6 mV (P less than 0.005) when 4 x 10(5) CGD neutrophils were added. Thus, CGD neutrophils increase the release of ROI from normal cells, suggesting nonoxidative regulatory factors in ROI production.

Acridines↗
PubMed1989

Granulocyte- and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factors enhance neutrophil cytotoxicity toward HIV-infected cells.

Although the control of retroviral disease in animal systems often involves antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC), the role of cytotoxic function in human retroviral disorders is uncertain. The ability of the neutrophil to kill HIV-infected targets directed by antiviral antibody was examined. Neutrophils from patients with AIDS killed HIV-infected MOLT-3A cells in a manner equivalent to neutrophils obtained from normal volunteers. Both granulocyte- and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factors (G-CSF and GM-CSF) markedly augmented the cytotoxic function. Studies done with fractionated human antisera revealed that ADCC to HIV-infected cells was mediated only by antibody to the env glycoprotein. ADCC in this system was not dependent on oxidative metabolism because neutrophils from patients with chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) were capable of CSF-augmented cytotoxicity. Although ADCC can be mediated by various classes of lymphocytes and mononuclear phagocytes, such cells may be infected by HIV. Because the neutrophil apparently is not productively infected by the virus, it is an ideal cell to focus on with regard to cytotoxic function in AIDS patients. The findings regarding neutrophil ADCC in AIDS are clinically relevant because the availability of CSFs now permits therapeutic regulation of neutrophils in AIDS patients, and presumably natural antibody may be useful in targeting HIV-infected cells for neutrophil cytotoxicity in vivo.

Antibody-Dependent Cell Cytotoxicity↗
PubMed1988

Relationship of protein phosphorylation to the activation of the respiratory burst in human neutrophils. Defects in the phosphorylation of a group of closely related 48-kDa proteins in two forms of chronic granulomatous disease.

When 32P-labeled human neutrophils were activated by exposure to phorbol myristate acetate, three 48-kDa proteins (designated pp48/6.8, pp48/7.3, and pp48/7.8, from their isoelectric points) were found to have become labeled. With maximal stimulation, labeling was complete by 30 s. With lesser degrees of stimulation, the extent of labeling at 2 min correlated with rates of production by the phorbol-treated cells. Increased labeling of these 48-kDa proteins was also seen in cells exposed to f-Met-Leu-Phe. In phorbol-treated neutrophils from patients with X-linked cytochrome b558-negative chronic granulomatous disease, pp48/7.8 was labeled in a normal fashion, but pp48/6.8 and pp48/7.3 failed to take up 32P. In cells from patients with autosomal recessive cytochrome b558-positive chronic granulomatous disease, however, none of the three proteins took up 32P in response to phorbol. The three proteins appear to be very closely related, as indicated by the findings that phosphoserine was the only phosphoamino acid found in any of the three, and all three yielded identical one-dimensional phosphopeptide maps after digestion with either chymotrypsin or staphylococcal proteinase V8. These results reconcile earlier observations on protein phosphorylation in chronic granulomatous disease and provide further evidence for a relationship between the phosphorylation of this group of 48-kDa proteins and the activation of the respiratory burst oxidase.

Blood Proteins↗
PubMed1988

Characterization of a monocyte differentiation factor distinct from gamma-interferon, tumor necrosis factor, or G,M-colony-stimulating factor that regulates the growth and functional capabilities of the U937 monocytic cell line.

We have analyzed the characteristics and cellular sources of the T cell-derived lymphokines that affect the proliferation and the oxidative metabolic capabilities of the U937 monocytic cell line. Although gamma-interferon (gIFN) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFa) can, in high doses, inhibit the proliferation of U937 cells, the predominant antiproliferative factor produced by activated CD4+ and CD8+ T cells has a MW = 45-55 Kd, is resistant to heat treatment, and is distinct and independent from gIFN, TNFa, and GM-CSF. The inhibitory effect of this lymphokine on U937 cell growth requires an 18-24-hr induction period; thereafter, this growth arrest persists for up to 5 d, even in the absence of the factor. The lymphokine responsible for inducing oxidative metabolic capabilities in U937 cells is also a non-gIFN, heat-resistant, 45-55-Kd factor secreted by CD4+ and CD8+ cells, and we postulate that this differentiation factor is identical to the factor responsible for inhibiting U937 growth. These data demonstrate the prominent role of T cell-derived factors distinct from gIFN, TNFa, or GM-CSF in regulating the growth and functional capabilities of monocyte-lineage cells. Furthermore, the data suggest it may be appropriate to distinguish monocyte activation, in which cells at a given maturational stage develop a heightened ability to perform a particular function, from changes in the functional repertoire of cells acquired as a consequence of lymphokine-induced differentiation.

Cell Line↗